Kiana Dressendorfer Scholarship in Archaeology

The Kiana Dressendorfer Scholarship in Archaeology is awarded annually to continuing SF State undergraduate or graduate student to pursues his or her interests and education in the archaeology of any region of the world.

The scholarship fund was set up in memory of SF State student Kiana Dressendorfer by her family. Kiana passed away in December 1997 just after she completed her B.A. in history at SF State. Beloved by students and faculty alike, Kiana's exuberance and intelligence are being honored by her family in this scholarship endowment so that other students may follow the path that interested Kiana so deeply – archaeology.

Archaeology, for the purpose of this scholarship, is broadly conceived as the study of the material culture of peoples worldwide, past and present, conducted through a variety of textual, theoretical and methodological analyses, including excavation, ethnohistorical/documentary research, research of previously excavated materials housed in museums and special collections and so on. Archeology includes aspects of study from humanities, social sciences and sciences.

In addition to scholarly research, archaeology may also include innovative approaches for teaching the subject at any level of education, including but not limited to developing teaching kits, field schools for young people, websites for curriculum and virtual museums. The goal of archaeology is to add to our understanding of the worldwide, daily life, technology, society, politics, economy and artistry of peoples worldwide through research and education.

Previous Award Holders

2016 Shane Kennedy Davis, Devan Glensor

2015 Kevin Hunter

2014 Koji Ozawa

2013 Christy Schirmer

2012 Megan Watson

2011 Amandine Castex

2010 Deborah Morgan

2009 Christopher Wood

2008 Priscilla Mollard

2007 Caitlin Schloss

2006 Lisa Pesnichak

2005 Amy McCarthy

2004 Douglas Worley & Linn Gassaway

2003 Tara Keyser

2002 Ethan Spanier

2001 Andrea Yankowski & Megan Wilkinson

2000 Brian Daniels & Brett Rushing

Jay Young Award for Excellence

The Jay Young Anthropology Excellence is an annual award available to the Department of Anthropology to support deserving student projects and activities, thanks to a generous gift by Jay P. Young of San Francisco, who graduated with a B.A. in Anthropology in 1981.

Previous Faculty Award Holders

Robert Homsher

Katrinka Reinhardt

Aviva Sinervo

Previous Award Holders

2016 Devan Glensor, Ellie Lobovits

2015 Lucilla Carballo

2014 Chelsea Jordan

2013 Lauren Bjelde

Spotlight on a Jay P. Young Awardee

Vanessa Avery's thesis project took the form of an applied anthropological film about the community mobilization efforts to build the First Garifuna Community Hospital in Ciriboya, Honduras. In collaboration with the community of Ciriboya, her film provided a medium for the self-presentation of the Garifuna as a vibrant and empowered people collectively addressing their health care needs despite the sociopolitical oppression and structural violence imposed on them by the Honduran government. Her film aimed to inform a Western audience of the larger sociopolitical context in which hegemonic ideologies separate Garifuna into the category of the Honduran other, and against which the building of a free hospital took a stand. Additionally, her film was used by the community to continue to secure medicine and medical supplies for the hospital.

San Francisco State University Career Center

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